Students are expected to attend all meetings of each class in which they are enrolled and to comply with the standards stated in the course syllabus. Faculty members may fail any student who is absent for a significant portion of class time. Excessive absence is defined as missing more than 20% of class meetings. Late arrival or early departure from a class session translates to absence. Students arriving after class begins or leaving before class ends will be marked as partially absent. Two late arrivals or early departures will be marked as one absence.

It is a student’s responsibility to check their email in case a class meeting is moved online due to inclement weather or a faculty member’s illness.  Attendance will be expected as usual if a class is moved online for any reason.  

Students with ADS Attendance Accommodations: 

Students registered with the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS) who have approved attendance accommodations will be clearly indicated in their individualized Accommodations Memo, which will be shared with faculty via email. Students must notify the ADS office of their absence either directly or by copying ADS@MICA.EDU on their email correspondence. The ADS Office will then notify faculty of the student's excused attendance as medically necessary. Faculty are required to mark these absences as excused in the grade book to ensure that students are not penalized for disability-related absences and to maintain institutional compliance with federal disability laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

While Students can opt for the ADS Office to facilitate attendance communications and provide support, ADS Students have the option and are strongly encouraged to self-advocate by emailing their professors directly to communicate their attendance as necessary. It is mandatory for students to copy ADS on all correspondence related to their attendance accommodations should ADS provide additional support as needed. Faculty can verify the validity of the these correspondences from Students by checking their Accommodation MEMO (emailed by ADS) and provided that ADS is copied onto the communication.

Please note, an attendance accommodation (e.g., excused absences, late arrivals) pursuant to this Policy shall not impact the student's participation grades or other measures of course assessment; however, they do not relieve the student from complying with all course requirements. Students shall be afforded the opportunity to make up missed assignments and assessments, as required by the instructor. When a makeup is necessary, it must be timely, scheduled at a time and place reasonably determined by the instructor, cover the same material, and be of the same level of difficulty as the original assessment or assignment. To the extent possible, makeup work should neither advantage nor disadvantage the student or the rest of the class. In the event that a group of students requires the same makeup assessment, one time and place may be scheduled. The makeup assessment must not interfere with the student's regularly scheduled classes. 

Students with Extended Illness or Absences:

Undergraduate students who have NOT been approved for academic disability accommodations, but who experience an extended illness or other issues that keep them from attending multiple class sessions must contact the Office of Student Outreach and Support (SOS).  SOS will work with the student to determine the cause and appropriateness of the absences and subsequently notify instructors as necessary. In this case, excusing absences is up to the discretion of the professor and is also contingent on the student arranging to make up missed work with their professor.  

Graduate students must contact the instructor, director, and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. Students in professional studies programs must contact the Associate Dean for Open Studies. The appropriate administrator will facilitate a conversation with relevant faculty to determine whether the student can achieve satisfactory academic progress, which is ultimately at the sole discretion of the faculty member.